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Motorists have been backed up on State Road A1A all winter, waiting to get into Sebastian Inlet State Park at the Brevard and Indian River County line. "It has just been very, very busy," Assistant Park Manager Sandy Benward said.

Motel rooms are hard to come by for this weekend's outdoor Home Garden and Orchid Show at the Martin County Fairground, according to the Stuart/Martin County Chamber of Commerce.

Weather is predicted to be balmy for the blooms — as it has largely been been throughout 2017.

Temperatures on average have been warmer than normal, setting several daily high temperature records but no low ones along the Treasure and Space coasts, according to National Weather Service records.

Weather outlook(Photo: National Weather Service, Melbourne)

The outlook, through April, is for those conditions to continue, according to the National Climate Center. If so, that could set the pace for the region to have yet another year of above-normal average temperatures.

AVERAGES GOING UP

It has been that way since 2010, the last year that saw below-normal temperatures in Melbourne and Vero Beach. The exception was 2014, when Vero Beach's overall average temperature was just 0.4 degrees below. Melbourne was 0.9 degrees above that year.

Melbourne and Vero Beach are the only local cities for which the National Weather Services does historical comparisons. Melbourne's December was its fourth warmest since record keeping started in 1937. Vero Beach's records date to 1942.

Temperatures peaked in 2015, which was historically warm in both Vero Beach and Melbourne. The year-long average, of day and night temperatures, was 75.4 in Melbourne and 76.2 in Vero Beach; the highest recorded at those sites. Vero Beach was 3.1 degrees above average. Melbourne was 3 degrees above average.

That is despite below-normal temperatures during both January and February 2016. March made up for that, ending 4 degrees above normal, records showed. The year ended with Vero Beach having its third warmest December on record.

Projected change in number of days over 95 degrees.(Photo: GRAPHIC FROM ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY)